HIGHLIGHT｜CURATOR’S PICK

Light from within Enlightenment Sphere passes through triangular facets and scatters across the lobby of CTBC Financial Park—but the pattern you see belongs only to where you're standing. Step forward, shift sideways, and the light rearranges itself. All light comes from within, Eliasson insists, and this work needs your movement to ever be seen whole.

Artwork Description｜

Suspended in the grand lobby of CTBC Building B is “Enlightenment Sphere” by artist Olafur Eliasson. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Eliasson currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. In 2003, he represented Denmark in the 50th Venice Biennale. In the same year, he became widely known for “The Weather Project” at Tate Modern in London, where he created a giant artificial sun in the soaring Turbine Hall that attracted over two million visitors.

Enthusiastic about geometry and optics, Eliasson stresses the application of light, color, and spatial proportions in his works and places special emphasis on interactive experiences with viewers. With a diameter of 275 cm and weighing 400 kg, “Enlightenment Sphere” is crafted from 2,175 pieces of handmade, limited-edition filter glass in 5 different colors. Among them, the black glass was baked with a gold foil coating and inlaid using exclusive craftsmanship. As the largest and most delicate piece the artist has created in this series, it showcases Eliasson's most acclaimed signature—the infinite transformations of space created through light and mirrors. The internal light source radiates like the sun, refracting through the mirrors and projecting onto the walls and floor, illustrating how Eliasson alters the limits and imagination of our spatial perception through light and mirrors.

As “enlightenment” originally means “illumination,” it shares a common imagery with “light.” Beyond its physical reference, enlightenment connotes the awakening of human intellect and carries philosophical revelation. By titling this artwork “Enlightenment”, the artist uses the light of art as a metaphor for cutting through the chaos of thought to open up new horizons—resonating with his creative philosophy, passing on his vision, and further highlighting the unique significance of this masterpiece.